There are many support groups active in Ireland, each with its own agenda and alas the agendas are sometimes in conflict. The sums of maney bandied around by way of compensation have been vast enough to reduce legitimate and much-needed support work to a sordid cash-driven industry.

Try this article from the Irish Sunday Times for a comprehensive overview of some of the main organisations active in the field, and the unseemly squabbling that goes on between them. The report shows the huge scale of the damage done to thousands upon thousands of people and families by the Catholic church - making it all the more regrettable that the support agencies have been unable to speak with one voice.

The focus is mainly on institutional abuse (by, for instance, the Sisters of Mercy, and in notorious "schools" run by the Christian Brothers), but some of the agencies mentioned also help pick up the pieces after cases of abuse by diocesan priests.